Question tag — Every man should be careful...

[man of manners]

Hi!
This is a new thread in which we will discuss some problematic sentences that need suitable question tags.
The sentence is:
Every man should be careful,........?
My opinion: "shouldn't he?"
Thanks in advance!

 

[GoesStation]

I agree with your choice.

 

[man of manners]

Why do you think this is 'problematic', man of manners?

Because I first thought that the answer can be "shouldn't they?", but after I thought more carefully, I came to know that since the sentence refers to men individually, the subject should be singular. That, in deed, reminds me of "Many a" which we refer to using a singular subject because of the same reason I have just written in bold. Do you agree on this?

 

[man of manners]

Since the sentence refers to men individually, the subject should be singular.

Is the above-mentioned reason the right one?

 

[GoesStation]

Yes. Every makes it singular. If you said all men, it would be plural.

 

[man of manners]

Yes. Every makes it singular. If you said all men, it would be plural.

Oh, you seem to have misunderstood me. I will paraphrase my question:
"Is the pronoun that can replace 'many a man/every man' singular only because these two structures refer to men individually.?"

 

[man of manners]

I don't think GS misunderstood you. Every man and many a man are singular expressions. The words I've underlined are a bit of a giveaway. The use of 'many a' is best regarded as idiomatic.

I meant the reason for using singular pronoun when replacing "Many a/Every".

 

[GoesStation]

Oh, you seem to have misunderstood me. I will paraphrase my question:
"Is the pronoun that can replace 'many a man/every man' singular only because these two structures refer to men individually.?"

I meant the reason for using singular pronoun when replacing "Many a/Every".

It's a mistake to look for logic in every detail of grammar. Piscean has given a satisfactory reason. You can try to find a detailed, logical explanation, but the exercise will only delay your search for the next obscure bit of grammar in need of justification.

 

[man of manners]

the exercise will only delay your search for the next obscure bit of grammar in need of justification.

It is just formal. These threads I am posting, I have said, are a real problem for ESL learners. We are just curious about the language and want to know the reason behind everything, only if exists but, of course, we will not know this until we ask!

 

[emsr2d2]

Despite the fact that some of your examples are ambiguous, most ESL learners don't have much of a problem with the simple rule that the question tag is simply an inverted version of the first two words of the original statement. Once they've learnt that, they can form a question tag for most sentences which would naturally require one.

 

[man of manners]

most ESL learners don't have much of a problem with the simple rule that the question tag is simply an inverted version of the first two words of the original statement.

I meant those who are highly interested in English as a second language, not common-or-garden learners.

I doubt if they are a serious problem for most learners.

They are not serious but of interest to highly interested educated ESL learners of English who are often curious about some points in grammar that other wouldn't give any attention to. I am one of those learners.

If you were a student of mine wishing to improve their ability to communicate effectively in English, I would tell you that there are many more important things to worry about than rare question tags.

Once I am done with these questions, I will have time to study other subjects in English.

 

[emsr2d2]

In post #12, you said they are a "real problem". There, "real" equates to "serious" or "big" for native speakers.

 

[Matthew Wai]

I meant those who are highly interested in English as a second language, not common-or-garden learners.

Assuming I count as the former, I don't think question tags pose a real/serious/big problem.

 

[man of manners]

In post #12, you said they are a "real problem". There, "real" equates to "serious" or "big" for native speakers.

Then I said, "They are not serious but of interest to highly interested educated ESL learners of English who are often curious about some points in grammar that other wouldn't give any attention to."

Assuming I count as the former, I don't think question tags pose a real/serious/big problem.

Then, why did you not even try to participate in these threads concerning question tags. please, if you will, give your opinion, if there is any.

 

[Matthew Wai]

why did you not even try to participate in these threads concerning question tags.

Because I am not one of the following:

educated ESL learners

 

[man of manners]

Because I am not one of the following:

Why did you stick to my word? You can still give your opinion. It may be useful to others.

 

[man of manners]

Can we stick to the topic rather than worry about why a particular member may or may not choose to participate?

Oh, yes. We can.